In recent years, highly precise and fine image quality comparative to silver salt photography can be taken along with rapid progress of recording technology; therefore, ink-jet recording apparatuses for forming images using an ink-jet recording system have been widely used as image forming apparatuses.
In these ink-jet recording apparatuses, there may arise ejection failure of an ink when forming images after the ink was not ejected from recording heads for a while. This is because when the ink is allowed to stand under a state filled in the recording heads, viscosity change of the ink occurs since evaporation occurs from the water of the ink near nozzles of the recording heads.
From such a circumstance, a water-based ink has been proposed for an ink for ink-jet recording apparatuses that includes from 5% to 15% by mass of a polyhydric alcohol monoalkyl ether having a vapor pressure of 0.1 mmHg or lower at 20° C. and from 5% to 50% by mass of a polyhydric alcohol as an organic solvent and that is allegedly excellent in ejection stability to form good images.
However, ejection failure may occur in the ink when forming images after the ink was not ejected for a while depending on the type of organic solvent used. There is another problem of disadvantageous satelliting tendency in the ink described above, i.e. minute satellite drops tend to fly together with main ink droplets (hereinafter, also referred to as “main drops”) when ejecting ink droplets from nozzles in cases of forming images more rapidly. The ink with the disadvantageous satelliting tendency may cause image smear in resulting images.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned ink is designed to be resistant to dry in order to enhance ejection stability; therefore, when forming images more rapidly, recording media such as paper may be discharged through a pair of discharge rollers before the ink has sufficiently dried or the ink has penetrated into recording media, and thus the ink may adhere to discharge rollers (offset). When the offset occurs, the ink adhering to discharge rollers transfers to recording media, thus image defects are likely to occur in resulting images.